One of the UN biodiversity loss summary report’s recommendations when it comes to our oceans is to take an ecosystems-based approach to fisheries management.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ecosystems-based fishery management is “a holistic approach that recognizes all the interactions within an ecosystem rather than considering a single species or issue in isolation.”
The traditional management strategy, on the other hand, was to focus on one species in isolation.
“For example, if a particular species’ population was declining, fishery managers might reduce the annual catch limit the following year in an attempt to reduce overexploitation,” reads the NOAA website. “However, fishing is only one variable affecting a species’ population. Additional elements come into play, such as interactions with other species, the effects of environmental changes, or pollution and other stresses on habitat and water quality.”
NOAA Fisheries, which is responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s living marine resources, has recently developed an agency-wide EBFM Policy that outlines a set of principles to guide its actions and decisions over the long term as it manages more than 450 fishery stocks.
To learn more about how NOAA is implementing this policy, visit: Understanding Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management
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